Audit 2018

Introduction

Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 (the Act) establishes new arrangements for the accountability and audit of local public bodies in England, particularly those ‘exempt authorities’ with a turnover below £25,000. Your Parish Council is one of these.

All Parish Councils must account for all the money they receive and spend, wherever it comes from. Local taxpayers expect local public bodies to be open and transparent about how they have handled public money, as these bodies are always accountable to the communities they serve.

The Transparency Code for smaller authorities was issued as recommended practice in December 2014 and following legislation became mandatory on 1 April 2015. The Code requires the following information, relating to the authority and the previous financial year, to be published annually. This should be published on the first occasion by 1 July 2015 and in each subsequent year no later than 1 July:
all items of expenditure above £100;
end of year accounts, annual governance statement, and internal audit report
(as contained in the annual return). The end of year accounts should be accompanied by:
a copy of the bank reconciliation for the relevant financial year;
an explanation of any significant variances (e.g. more than 10-15%, in line with proper practices) in the statement of accounts for the relevant year and previous year; and an explanation of any differences between ‘balances carried forward’ and ‘total cash and short term investments’, if applicable.
a list of councillor or member responsibilities; and
details of assets owned by the smaller authority

The following detail from the audit is available from this page by clicking on the appropriate link: